Hospice Volunteer Program

For any questions, please call (706) 389-2273.

Volunteer Roles

St. Mary’s Hospice utilizes volunteers to assist in the administrative office activities as well as in direct patient care services. Volunteer roles include, but are not limited to, patient care volunteers, administrative volunteers, certified pet therapy volunteers, music volunteers, and certified massage therapist volunteers.

Volunteer Benefits

Volunteers are important to us! St. Mary’s says “thank you” to volunteers in many ways, including:

• Employee pricing in St. Mary’s Café and Wellness Center
• Gift Shop discounts
• Free flu shots each fall
• Invitation to certain employee-only events, including St. Mary’s annual staff Christmas dinner or brunch

How to Become a Volunteer

Step 1: Complete and submit the online application OR download and print the application below.

• Once you have completed your application and your references have been contacted and checked, you will be contacted for an interview, typically within 1-2 weeks. Overall, it can take up to 4 weeks to become an official volunteer.

Step 2: Interview

• Interviews are conducted virtually or in-person. The Volunteer Coordinator will schedule your interview directly with you.

Step 3: Health Screening, Fingerprinting, Background Check, and Volunteer Badge.

• After the interview, the Volunteer Coordinator will provide you with step-by-step instructions to complete your health screening, fingerprinting, background check, and to obtain your badge.
• All volunteers are required to be fully vaccinated against flu and COVID-19.
• If you were born after 1957, be prepared to show evidence of two MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccinations, or provide results of a titer test showing adequate levels of immunity.
• You will be required to complete a TB screening. If you have had a TB test in the last 12 months, please bring a copy of it to your health screening appointment for the nurse to review.

Step 4: Orientation

• Orientation will be both online and in-person and will take up to 4 hours to complete for administrative volunteers and up to 16 hours for all other volunteers.

Other Volunteer Requirements

• Volunteers are required to attend at minimum two in-service trainings within a 12-month period.
• Volunteers must agree to volunteer a minimum of 4 hours per month. We ask that volunteers commit to at least 6 months of service.

If you have experienced a recent loss, we ask that you wait one year before volunteering with patients and families. Recent losses can include divorce or loss of a relationship, loss of a pet, serious illness of a loved one, etc.